Friday, October 5, 2012

Continuing where I left off. it seems now I update once every week! Haha!

Rayyan and I booked a tuk-tuk to do more rounds of temple hopping in the area. We did it via boat last evening to visit temples that were accessible via the river. This time around we tried via land and thankfully it was a bright, sunny day outside! Paid the tuk-tuk 150 Baht per hour. =)

1. Wat Thammikarat

The first stop for the day was Wat Thammikarat. It is said to be a lesser visited ruin and is actually still a working one. Lesser visited? I actually preferred this one instead of all the other temples I visited before. Maybe it's because there are not that many people around except just us two. Hehe. I liked the quietness of the place. The compound itself is surrounded by modern buildings and there's a chendi guarded by lions. Eh? =p (note: A chendi is used to store remains of royal relatives)

One particular chendi here was surrounded by lions though some are faceless.

The place was in very good condition and clean too! I liked the tall pillars in one structure and finding a Buddha statue at the end of it. Makes people wonder if the building was always roofless, no?

Clean and carefully preserved despite some missing pillars.

Walk a bit in front and you'll find the Buddha altar.

Cool tall pillars. Unusual that there's no roof above. Hehe.

Moving next to our next temple. (Note: no parking fees are charged in Ayuthayya. Only entrance fees.)

2. Wat Naphrameru-Rajikaram

The temple where the Burma king was accidentally hit by his own cannon during a shoot out and died before reaching the Burma-Thai border. The irony of his death. The original Buddha image that was said to save Ayuthayya is in this building. Oh, you do know that Siam was invaded by the Burmese army right? Hehe. Nothing much to look at except for that particular large golden Buddha image.

It is a modern building housing the Buddha that saved Ayuthayya.

3. Wat Lokayasutha

Next stop, the reclining Buddha. Wat Lokayasutha is the name of the place where Buddha gracefully reclines and it is listed as UNESCO World’s Heritage. I think I should start listing down all the UNESCO places I've been to. Been to a lot lately. This is the second largest reclining Buddha in Thailand.

Buddha pandai tutup aurat tau!! Hehe.

4. Ayuthayya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal

The tuk-tuk driver brought us to an elephant park. He was hoping that we would go on one of the rides but we refused. Reason number one, no money and reason number two, also no money. Muahaha! Yes, we were getting pretty low on cash. It was of course our fifth day in Thailand and have 2 more days to survive!

Interested to go on an elephant and venture around Ayuthayya, here are the rates as seen below.

400 Baht/person for 15 minutes

500 Baht/person for 25 minutes

I personally didn't like the idea of riding elephants with all that heavy gear on their backs. I read somewhere that there's actually a weight limit on an elephant's back and that's a bit over, don't you think? *looks at the poor elephants.

Those red seats are made from heavy metal! *methinks

At least we get to watch a baby elephant do tricks for free like sitting down and acts like its laughing with the shaking shoulders. hehe. But still, I felt uncomfortable. I bought elephant food instead and fed the elephants there to sooth my senses. Hope the dear elephants weren't mistreated here. Sigh.

Baby elephant sitting down for the amusement of human beings. Does that feel right? Err...

5. Wat Phra Sri Sanphet

We moved on to the next site which was within a very tall walled closure! The funny thing is, due to its high entrance fee, we didn't go in. Hahaha! So how did we manage to take the picture below if we weren't able to go in? I had to climb the wall a bit just to take a glimpse inside. Later on that night I googled to know what it was. Smart of me huh?

Wat Phra Sri Sanphet houses two chendis. The remains in which it houses can be read here. Hikss..

Wat Phra Sri Sanphet - graves of the dead?

6. Wat Maha That

We finally reached the last stop of day, Wat Maha That. This site is well known for the Buddha's head stuck in the trunk of a tree. There was a couple doing a shoot here. Perhaps newly-weds? We didn't stop to ask. Hehe.

The complex is really big! A bit disappointed though that the head was smaller than expected. hehe

And so ends our adventure for the day. ^___^

Nearing to my post on that "special" night out in Bangkok with a "certain" somebody in the next.... errrr.... two posts perhaps? Hehehe. Pray I'll update again of course.